Chapter – 05
Damn this cursed sense of direction.
Leonald had shown competence in every field after countless incidents, but perhaps the gods were fair—he could never escape the flaw of being completely hopeless at navigation.
Of course, the innocent princess had done nothing wrong.
—No matter how poor your sense of direction is…
The words spoken with such a bright smile were all like daggers, but if Leonald had known he was truly, severely directionally challenged, he would never have heard them that way.
—It’s not that way… t-this way.
As he followed the attendant, his expression eventually twisted in frustration. The unlucky servant trembled as they guided him.
Leonald sighed and threw his cloak over the chair.
Noticing the roughness in his movements, William spoke with a mix of curiosity and concern.
“Did something happen, Your Highness? You were gone quite a long time.”
“…I met the princess. She was heading to the Bloodline Altar with the Saint.”
“The Bloodline Altar?”
At the mention of something important, William straightened his posture.
“So she used changing dresses as an excuse. As expected from our investigation, the princess seems closely connected to the sacred relic.”
William continued seriously, but there was no response.
When he looked over, Leonald was sprawled out on the sofa.
Seeing the prince lying there without even changing his clothes, William began to realize what had likely happened.
“…William. Am I really that damn hopeless with directions?”
“……”
“Is it really just that my sense of direction is slightly worse than others?”
So that’s what it was.
William silently picked up a letter from the table, pretending not to notice.
“Your Highness, I’ve learned that the First Prince has sent a marriage proposal to Princess Charlotte.”
“Are you changing the subject right now?”
“This seems more urgent.”
At that, Leonald frowned—but it was undeniably true.
“So it’s a move to form ties with Sinkester through marriage to the princess.”
“It’s probably just a gesture to get in good graces. Unless they’re insane, Blake would never actually marry into Sinkester.”
“……”
“You might want to try the same approach, Your Highness. In Blake, you’re said to be far better looking than the First Prince.”
At William’s words, Leonald, who had been rubbing his face, slowly lowered his hands.
His eyes, once blazing under the sun, were now soaked in fatigue.
“I should’ve just practiced finding my way.”
In “The Saint Who Hid Divine Power”, there were five continents and six oceans.
Each continent had a single Holy Kingdom, and historically, none of them had ever allowed foreign invasion.
This was thanks to the three sacred relics bestowed by God.
Thus, the Bloodline Altar was created with multiple layers of barriers, and the relics were stored there and protected through generations.
Only the Pope, myself as the relic administrator, the Saint Aurora, and two high priests were allowed inside.
After parting with the prince, the two of us entered the altar’s barrier.
Inside, Erdan’s holy power filled the space, making it feel like a warm greenhouse.
“His Majesty’s barrier is still on another level.”
“It’s ten layers. Even skilled priests or mages wouldn’t be able to break through it.”
The altar was solemn and quiet.
Feeling the pressure, we quietly walked along the white stone path and arrived at the altar.
On top of the golden wool-covered platform, three sacred relics were neatly placed.
A crown made of laurel leaves.
A massive horn carved from ivory.
A mirror made entirely of pure gold.
At first glance, they looked ordinary—but they were relics bestowed by the main god of the Elysium Continent, “Elisia.”
Aurora carefully examined each one.
“There’s nothing wrong. I was worried about intruders since many foreign guests are arriving, but it seems unnecessary.”
“Right. If there had been a problem, the relics would have warned us first.”
If anyone harbored malicious intent, one of the three relics would have issued a warning, and then Cedric would have led the elite Holy Knights to eliminate them before they even reached the capital.
That was how Sinkester’s history of inviolability was maintained.
“So that prince must’ve just gotten lost. After all, this kingdom has never been conquered for 5,000 years.”
Relieved, I patted Aurora’s shoulder.
“Past, present, and future—our kingdom will remain strong.”
“Probably.”
“Trust me.”
Aurora smiled faintly and looped her arm through mine again.
“I don’t trust you. I trust the relics.”
“……”
Honestly, just how low was my trust rating with her?
Of course, I had “slightly scammed” a few people—but that was all in good faith to change the original story.
A few small incidents, yes—but nothing major.
Before I could dwell on my past and feel uneasy, I quickly smiled brightly.
“Alright then! Shall we head back?”
After leaving the altar with Aurora, I immediately went to the princess’s palace study.
On the desk sat an expensive box containing a bracelet with a blue orb.
A magical communication device.
Since I had no holy power, I couldn’t use sacred relics that required it, so I had no choice but to rely on magical tools.
Among them were “mana stones,” which already contained magic energy and could be used by ordinary people.
Honestly, it’s tough being a powerless villainess.
Writers really should give supporting characters some special abilities.
That way they could make the heroine suffer more trials and strengthen her romance with the male lead, right?
Grumbling to myself, I obediently put on the bracelet, placed my hand on the crystal, and recited the name of the white owl along with the spell.
“Sir Aaron, I have a request. I’ll be waiting in the study.”
White Owls.
They were the shadow knights of the Sinkester royal family.
Though called knights, they were responsible for intelligence gathering, communication, infiltration—so the author likely named them “owls” because they worked in the dark.
Shortly after I made the call, a man silently flew in through the window.
“Your Highness, you called for me?”
As I stood up from the desk, Aaron immediately knelt on one knee.
A brunette, he had a sturdy build that didn’t quite match a knight of the shadows.
“Sir Aaron, I’d like you to investigate the Sixth Prince of Blake who is attending this banquet.”
“Prince Leonald Blake, correct?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly should I investigate?”
“Same as when we dealt with Knox Glaston. Gather as much information as possible—even the color of the pen he uses.”
Knox Glaston was the villain in the original “The Saint Who Hid Divine Power” who nearly brought Sinkester to ruin.
I had the White Owls investigate everything about him—including the fact that he hated eggplant fries—and then eliminated him.
Not that I killed him with eggplant fries.
“Yes. I will gather everything as quickly as possible.”
Aaron nodded immediately and disappeared out the window like the wind, just as he had arrived.
“He really is good at his job.”
I stared at the open window for a moment before sighing at the stack of documents on my desk.
It was a list of guests attending tomorrow’s ball and their profiles.
In particular, the information on the twenty men I would dance with tomorrow filled three full pages, front and back. Abigail’s passionate work.
“Marriage, huh.”
Truthfully, I planned to leave the kingdom after the banquet and travel across the continent.
I worked like crazy to change the original story. Now it was time to relax like a noble.
If I married, I could become at least a noble lady—or even a queen or empress.
Maybe in novels, noble ladies just sit around doing nothing, but this is reality.
It was already hard enough memorizing Sinkester’s royal genealogy—did I really want to spend my second life memorizing another family tree after marriage?
Goodbye, main characters and extras of The Saint Who Hid Divine Power~~
I will throw off all the chains and shackles of the original story and set off in search of my happiness.
